Scotland and Nuclear Energy

In yesterday's edition of the Guardian (U.K.), Robin McKie talked to Jim McDonald, director of Strathclyde University's centre for energy and the environment about what Scotland's future would look like without nuclear energy:

'Scotland requires about 5.5 to 6 gigawatts of electricity to keep its offices running, its homes warm and its factories working,' he points out. 'We can now generate almost 10 gigawatts and export the excess to England. With no replacements for Hunterston and Torness, that will stop. Nuclear power now provides 40 per cent of our power baseload. Without it, we would end up importing power and I don't see how a country seeking full autonomy can justify that.'

For those of you who aren't familiar with the situation, the current government in Scotland is poised to both oppose any effort to build new nuclear plants in that country, as well as work to prevent any moves to extend the operational life of its current nuclear fleet.

As you can see from our archives on the subject, any sort of decisions like that will be fraught with peril.